Dark Angel
by meimeithemoocow
Summary: Eren Jaeger drowns, only to land in a meadow, where a tiny blond claims to be his guardian angel. He protects Eren, and... is only visible to Eren. Clearly, Eren Jaeger has gone mad. Modern AU based off of Dark Angel by L.J. Smith.
1. The Fall

Eren Jaeger didn't mean to die that day

He was mad though, mad because he had missed his ride home from school and because he was cold, and because in two weeks it would be Christmas, and he was lonelier than he'd ever been.

He walked by the side of the empty road, which was about as winding and hilly as every other country road in south western Pennsylvania.

It was such a rotten day, the sky was dull and mucky grey, the snow looked tired, half melted and half frozen at the same time. And Mikasa Ackerman, who should have been waiting after Eren cleaned up his art studio project, had already driven away. With her new girlfriend.

Clearly, it was an honest mistake. And, in no way shape or form was he _jealous_ of Mikasa, or her girlfriend Annie, despite the fact that, a week ago, they had both been sixteen and had never kissed. And of course, he wasn't jealous that Annie was dating Mikasa or Mikasa was dating Annie. He wasn't interested in those girls. Or, any girls.

Eren wanted to go home.  
And here is where he heard crying.  
He stopped, looking around. It sounded faintly like a baby, or a cat, or... something. His first thought was Marco Bodt, which was crazy and psychotic because he was the fifteen year old who ran away and never came back about a year ago.

The crying returned, ringing in his ear like an alarm clock that never went off no many how many times he threw it at the wall. He needed it to stop. He heard it again, more human and pained this time.

"Hello?" He called out, "I - Is anyone in there?"

No answer. He stared into the dense woods, attempting to search for something. A flash of a scarf, a hand signal, a clicking sound that was morse code. But there was nothing. The trees glared down over the road slightly, gnarled and bare. Scary stuff.

Then, he looked up and down the road. No cars, bikes, or pedestrians. He furrowed his eyebrows._ Sorry, Marco. I'm not going in there all alone. _He was the type for adventure, of course, but... the woods? On a day like this? When he was already freezing? Ha! He was brave, not stupid.

But... There was no one around, it was only him and... The woods... and... the crying. What was he to do?

Sighing, he pushed his black backpack over both of his arms, his hands now free. Then, cautiously, he started his way over the slippery, cold, snow and dirt. "Hello?" He yelled, "Helloooooo? Hi? Hellloooooo?" He felt so dumb, yelling out and not getting any response.

"Hello?"  
Only howling.

Eren began walking down the hill, he was skinny and scrawny, with only a thin layer of muscle, so it was no surprise that he didn't weigh much. But even so, the crust on the ground was thin, and every step he made took him ankle deep.

_Fucking fantastic, and I'm wearing sneakers_.

Deep into the woods, the snow wasn't as deep, perhaps because the trees blocked any form of precipitation from entering the forest. In the woods, it was white, and unbroken. Indigo shadows spilling like ink on a white carpet.

If Eren held his breath, he could hear that the yelling came from his left. He surged to that direction. In the snow, he came across fox tracks, and bird scratches, nothing human, except the yelling which now seemed to come from all around him. But he knew it was forward.

_Come on Eren, just up this ridge. You can do it. Up up up. Who cares if your feet are cold?_

As he struggled over the uneven, hilly, cold ground, he tried hard to think about comforting things. Maybe, Mikasa would pound through the woods and rescue Eren and the lost one, like she always saved him. Or, maybe, Titan News would have him write an article about it.

Or, maybe saving people was way too nice to be cool. Not like Eren was cool, or nice, to begin with.

But really, Eren only had two ambitions: Jean Kirschtein, and to finally be known as a hero, or, something.

If Eren was popular, he would feel good about himself, and everything else would follow, like it did in the movies that he couldn't stand watching. If only he was as tall as Jean Kirschtein, as fit as Erwin Smith, or as stone-cold and irresistible to everyone in Survey Corps high as Levi. If only Mikasa wasn't the reason people wanted to talk to him. If only he was funny and caring. If only he had a beard. If only he wasn't so impulsive and weak and...

He reached the top of the ridge, grabbing onto a branch in order to keep his balance. And while he gripped the cold branch with a gloveless hand, he looked around. There was nothing to see in the forest, nothing to hear either. The crying stopped. It stopped completely.

_God damn, don't do this to me..._

Frustration riled up Eren, and chased away his undying fear. He screamed, "Hey! Hey! You okay? I - I'm going to help you!"

Silence. Only silence. And then...

"HELP!"

Eren surged forward, the voice came from the creek and, god dammit, someone was in the water... Getting weaker and weaker and...

Once at the edge of the lake, he looked around, his heart beating fast, adrenaline moving through him and making him do things he shouldn't have been able to do, he hissed as he moved around, running and trying to look for the flash of a scarf, a hand signal, a clicking sound that was morse code.

"Have you gone under? Are you all right? Can you breathe? Splash if you can hear me!"

And then, a mistake. He leaned forward, just a little too much and...

He was soaring, nothing solid to grasp onto or any ground to propel his feet off of. He was all too surprised to even think about being terrified. Normally, when Eren was ever hit, or fell, or anything of that sort, time slowed around him and all he could pay attention to was the basketball coming to his face, or the fist searching for his gut, or the a book slammed on his desk because he'd dozed off again. But with the icy water, it alerted his senses with a slap in the face, and suddenly he realized...

Eren Jaeger was under water. And Eren Jaeger was going to die.


	2. The Process Of Death

Everything was freezing, and everything was confusing. Eren's head was under water and he was being rolled and tumbled and fumbled about in the water, over and over. He couldn't see, breathe, and his brain was so disoriented.

Then his wet mop of black hair popped up, breaking the water's continuously surface. He sucked in a gasp of air, his skinny arms flailing and flapping, but they seemed tangled in his backpack. Where he was, he assumed the creek wide, fast, and strong. He was swept downstream at speeds he shouldn't have gone, and his mouth seemed full of water at all times.

And, everything was just so cold. And it bit at him, it hurt, it wasn't just temperature, when he caught sight of his lips in his peripheral line of vision, he saw they were blue. And his fingers, once pale and now blue.

Eren shut his eyes.

_ I'm going to die._

His mind realized that fact with true certainty. As if it were saying, _'Yes, indeed, this body will most definitely shut down_.' But his body was stubborn, flailing absently and shivering, it fought against him, no matter what he thought.

It struggled out of his backpack, and he watched as the Wings Of Freedom embroidery caught onto a rock an tore right down the middle. He watched as his legs never stopped kicking.

But, no good.

The creek itself was six feet tall and Eren was barely standing at five-foot-six. He barely had the strength the hold himself up.

Right then and there, Eren was filled with utmost hatred. Not for the creek, but for himself. Because he was small and weak and it was going to take his life. He was going to die and it was going to happen now. Like prime-time television programs.

And... He didn't remember what happened next. Adrenaline, some would say. The last kick to live before you die. There was nothing but anger burning his mind, his legs scrambled and kicked and he had stopped shivering. And his mind knew that the slam his hand took to the rock should have hurt, but he felt nothing.

He looked down at his legs, his stubborn legs that would not stop kicking. Which, maybe was a good thing, because he propelled himself out of the creek and onto the snow and dirt, gasping and panting and... "I made it." He said. "I'm okay." Or maybe he thought it, but his brain was too foggy to register.

But when he tried to stand, he realized how wrong he was. When he tried to hold himself up, his legs wobbled beneath him and all he was aware of was the sharp sting of icy coldness on his skin. And, he was cold. He was previously exhausted and nearly frozen, and his clothes felt like medieval armor.

His gloves were gone, and his hat was as well. With every sharp intake of the wintry air, he seemed to get colder and colder and suddenly the shivers came back, violently and all at once.

"Road. Car. That's it, Eren. You need to find someone who has a car and heat up inside it. Mhm, that's it."

He rose, walking forward. But, where was the road? He didn't know, but he had to get somewhere. He stumbled forward, walking into too many roots to count and picking himself up slower then he'd like.

_It's these clothes. They're too heavy, I should take them off... _

Dimly, Eren knew he was wrong. He was hypothermic. He wasn't thinking right. He didn't care. He would have to take risks. He unzipped his windbreaker, watching it tumble in the snowy forest.

_That's the problem. I can walk better now _

Nope. He was still falling and falling and stumbling and falling. Every time, it was harder for his numb muscles to pick himself off the floor. His slacks felt like cold slabs of ice, but then again, they were covered with snow.

_Should get rid of those things_.

He fiddled with the zipper, until it fell, and he stepped out of his pants in just black boxers.

_I need rest now, that's all. Just a little nap for Eren_.

Eren sat down in the snow, a little clearing where it was thinner, for some reason, not as much snow. Maybe it was melted. He didn't know, he was wet and cold. He felt so peaceful there, the ground was clear except for his body on the snow. And above, overhanging branches formed a snowy canopy. It was a beautiful place to die.

Eren had stopped shivering, which probably meant it was over. His body couldn't provide any heat and was surrendering the fight. It was going into hibernation and shutting itself down, conserving the heat and slowing her heart rate, reducing his breath as well. It tried to survive until help came, but... Help didn't come.

No one knew where Eren was. Mikasa may have called him, but where was his cellphone? Probably somewhere in the lake... It would be hours until his father came home from late night shifts and his mother was... awake.

And they wouldn't be alarmed that Eren was missing. They would assume that he was with Mikasa, and by the time Mikasa would realize Eren was walking, it would've been too late, and Eren would've been dead.

But Eren didn't care, he couldn't save himself, he reached his physical limit and exhaustion was taking over. He wouldn't be able to move to save himself, even if he had thought of a plan. He glanced at his hands, the muscles were no longer red, they were blue-white.

The main pro here was that, he didn't feel cold. He couldn't feel anything. And he was tired... He had begun the process of death.

White fog filled his mind, he had no sense of time passing and his metabolism slowed to a stop, he was becoming ice. One with the precipitation.

I'm in trouble.

Somebody.

Anybody.

Help.

His last thought was, it's just like going to sleep. And then all at once, there was no rigidity, or discomfort. And, similarly, no heartbeat.


	3. The Tunnel The Meadow

First and foremost, I am sooooooo sorry for the wait! I had a lot of personal stuff. and I was getting lazy but I finished this all in one go so HERE IS YOUR CHAPTER, EVERYONE.

* * *

Warm. He was very warm, as though he was filled with sunshine and hot chocolate. He laughed in pleasure, as he floated up, up, up. As he floated, the more he laughed. The sensation tickled him.

But... wait.

Eren frowned, as if he were confused and trying to remember something. Something bad happened to me... Something... I was...

Wait, why is it so dark? Where... what?

He opened his eyes, suddenly feeling dumb. Eren giggled a little, looking at the ground below him. There was a figure, a huddled figure. He eyed it curiously, squinting.

It was a boy, average size, give or take. He was almost hidden by the black hair mossed around his face. Eren noticed his eyelids, pale, with spiderwebs of blue veins decorated under the white skin. But he knew that underneath the hair and skin, those eyes were a teal blue.

Oh, I get it. That's me! I'm... dead.

The realization didn't bother Eren at all. She had no physical connection to the huddled thing on the ground. He didn't belong to it anymore. With a mental shrug, Eren turned away.

And he was in a tunnel.

It was large, and dark. With the feeling of complexity, as if space itself were folded or twisted, and maybe so was time. He was rushing through, flying and soaring. Little points of light whizzing by.

"Oh, God. It's the tunnel... it's happening to me, right now." He smirked, mentally. "And I'm going at warp speed."

Weirder than being dead was being dead with a sense of humor.

"Could... all of this... be in my head?"

For the first time so far, he felt frightened. Things in his head... he had hypothermia, this could he a trick of the mind, and... that thought scared Eren. What if he ran inti nightmares? Things that his conscious knew scared him until Mikasa handed him the red scarf and rub his back and offer to make cookies.

And suddenly, the tunnel changed. A bright light shone from above, it wasn't blue-white, like in movies and television shows, but pale gold and sunny yellow. It was blurred, as if he looked at it through a frosted glass. And it was bright. Bright, bright bright.

Shouldn't this feel like... love... or... something?

Instead of love, he felt awe and inspiration and just plain bright. It was like looking at the beginning of the universe, and he was rushing toward it so fast, filling himself.

He was in it.

The light encompassed him, surrounded him. Seemed to shine through him levitate him. Than the feeling of floating was gone, and the light was dimmed. Or maybe he had become accustomed to it all.

Shapes solidified around him, and he realized he was in a meadow. The grass was dull, dark and green with the faintest noise of crickets chirping between the blades. The sky was the same sort of dull. Grey, or maybe blue grey, with a touch of indigo. As if the world were frowning. Eren looked down, he was wearing a pair of greyish-whiteish-beigeish skinny jeans, impossibly skinny and he had to admit, he looked good. But his shirt... Where was his shirt?

"So..." He said aloud to no one, taking a seat on a tree stump and leaning his chin on his palm. "Is someone supposed to greet me, or something? Marco Bodt, perhaps?"

But no one came. The landscape was as Eren liked it. Dull and grey. But he couldn't shake the feeling of loneliness.

Anxiety twisted inside his belly, what if this wasn't the good place? After all, he wasn't the nicest. What if is was actually... Hell. Or... limbo?

Like the place where spirits talked to Long Island Medium. Heavenly beings wouldn't say such silly things. What if she were left here, alone... forever? Suddenly, he pulled his knees up to his chest. He missed Mikasa, and he missed his father and his mother.

As soon as he finished his thought, he wished he'd die permanently. No after-life existence and no pain.

And then, voices. Little blips of sentences that seemed to come from around him.

_"So white, you can't see..."_

_"A time and a half..."_

_"Wish I could, gorgeous..." _

Eren turned, trying to see who had called him gorgeous, and whether or not it was his crazy brain. And then he saw something. Blurry around the edges and unmistakable, a few feet away from his stump, above the grey grass was a sort of mist of light. Hadn't been there a moment ago, but now it seemed to get brighter as he watched.

And there was a definite shape in the fog, and it was coming towards him.


End file.
